Interdependence Day Berlin 2010

Sustain /Ability -Why Interdependence Matters

The ICD is pleased to confirm its participation in the forthcoming Interdependence Day, which is being held in Berlin from 8th - 13th September 2009
(download the program brochure here)

INTERDEPENDENCE DAY VIII
BERLIN, GERMANY SEPTEMBER 8-13, 2010

Following seven successful Interdependence Day Celebrations and Forums starting in 2003 in Philadelphia and continuing in Rome, Paris, Casablanca, Mexico City, Brussels and Istanbul (2009), Professor Benjamin Barber and his global NGO "CivWorld at Dēmos" are pleased to announce that Interdependence Day VIII will be held in Berlin, Germany from September 8-13, 2010.

Interdependence Day honors September 12 as a post-9/11 symbol of regeneration, as a time to reflect on the range of global challenges we can solve only through acknowledging our interdependence. Under the theme of Sustain/Ability, the eighth annual Interdependence Day Celebration and Forum will focus on the critical issue of climate change to examine the crisis of global warming and climate justice in the frame of interdependence. The roles of global cities, the arts, new technologies and the private sector will also be examined as key areas of discussion.

CivWorld at Dēmos has partnered with two major presenting hosts in Berlin: the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, whose director Bernd Scherer serves on our Steering Committee, and RADIALSYSTEM V, whose artistic director Jochen Sandig is a long time collaborator. A number of other major Berlin institutions round out the list of partners, including the Hertie School of Governance (Dean Helmut Anheier), the world's leading climate science research institute, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research under Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, the world famous Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) (Dieter Kosslick), the Embassy of the United States of America (Ambassador Philip D. Murphy), the Senatskanzlei (Office of the Mayor) , The American Academy in Berlin (director, Gary Smith), the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (director, Mark Donfried) and the Amadeu Antonio Stiftung.

Individuals who are already engaged in the work of the Interdependence Movement, and who will speak at and moderate panels include Dr. Martin Frick, a new member of the Steering Committee whose focus is climate justice, and Professor Claus Offe, formerly of Humboldt University and the Hertie School, and a founding member both of Interdependence Day and the Steering Committee. Berlin notables, like former Minister of Culture Michael Naumann, will-among others-join and speak at the event.

The Forum will kick off with a Brothers Keepers hip hop concert on September 10 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, hosted by Danny Glover and with a special message from Harry Belafonte. As always, Interdependence Day in Berlin will bring together leaders from the worlds of scholarship, religion, civil society, politics and the arts and will include scholarly seminars, public debates, artistic performances and exhibitions. On Interdependence Day, September 12, our delegates will be joined at the Rotes Rathaus (Berlin City Hall) by members of the Berlin community to memorialize victims of terrorism around the world and to celebrate the constructive future we can create only through recognizing our interdependence.

As in both of the last two Interdependence Day celebrations, the Global Interdependence Youth Summit will be held concurrently from September 9th to 13th and it will engage young people from many countries both in their own activities and in its panels and seminars. Young leaders from The Gathering for Justice, Brotherhood Sister-Sol, the W. Haywood Burns Institute, OneVoice, and many other organizations, will meet to tell their own stories of interdependence and learn about the theory and practical work of interdependence that defines our Interdependence Movement.

CivWorld

CivWorld is a global interdependence Initiative with four main areas of activity. In addition to the annual Interdependence Day event, CivWorld conducts research on democracy and interdependence, practises advocacy on key issues in this area, and runs the Global Interdependence Network for Action. The initiative pursues four main goals with this activity:

A more democratic system of global governance with multilateral approaches to global challenges.

A more inclusive global economy with a more equal distribution of wealth and the globalisation of social protections.

Approaches to citizenship and political representation that support integration.

Deeper involvement of the US public in the United States’ international policy.

CivWorld is a project of Demos (US), a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization.

Benjamin Barber

Benjamin Barber is one of the most influential political theorists in the United States and author of over 17 books exploring the role and function of democracy in modern societies including “Jihad Vs. McWorld” and “Strong Democracy”. His central thesis, and constant theme in these works, is to prescribe a form of representative democracy based on a strong and active civil society and engaged citizenship, as oppose to modern participatory democracy. The main threats to such engaged citizenship, identified by Barber, are political particularism (such as religious fundamentalism) and the increasing influence of “unchecked” capitalism. His work is widely influential across the world, from students to NGOs to Presidents, and has been under renewed focus since the financial crisis.

Barber’s academic background includes degrees from Grinnell College (BA), Harvard University (MA, Ph.D.), as well as certificates from the London School of Economics (1957) and Albert Schweizer College (1959). He has served as an unofficial national political advisor to the President during the Clinton Administration, and has also advised numerous other political bodies and politicians, including former German President Roman Herzog and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. Barber is the Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Policy.